PARIS, France, April 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - In the security crackdown ordered byIranian authorities since the start of the war, an unsettling new sight onthe streets of Tehran has put residents on edge: teenagers armed with machineguns. Iranian authorities have confirmed they are recruiting children as young as12 for paramilitary group patrols, traffic checks and other duties. "Around 9 pm, I was feeling suffocated and nostalgic, so I got in the car todrive around town," a 28-year-old woman told AFP on Monday on condition thather identity be protected. Another Tehran resident told AFP last week he had been through a checkpointof military vehicles, then "just 100 metres (330 feet) ahead, there areseveral private cars with teenagers stopping vehicles". "They take cars fitted with speakerphones and they give them flags and theymarch with lots of noise and shout slogans in the streets," another residentin a Tehran suburb told AFP recently.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha April 01, 2026 13:46 UTC